How to Write a Memorable Family Christmas Letter
The holiday season is the perfect time to reconnect with loved ones through a heartfelt family Christmas letter. But how do you ensure your letter stands out amidst the holiday chaos? With a little creativity and thoughtful formatting, you can craft a message that captures your family’s unique personality while keeping it simple and engaging.
A family Christmas letter can be a heartfelt way to share your year’s highlights. But rather than just listing accomplishments or updates, think of your family as a cast of characters in a cozy, heartwarming story.
Entertain your readers with anecdotes that show rather than describe just how brilliant and clever your family members are. Good quotes are pure gold, especially from little ones’ backseat conversations. Interview your kids to come up with great material.
Instead of simply stating, “Susie started ballet,” why not share a funny anecdote about how Susie’s first pirouette ended in a dramatic tumble and a giggle fit? These little moments—especially the quotes from the kids—are what bring your letter to life and make it unforgettable.
Perfecting the Length and Appearance of Your Christmas Letter
Simplicity is key when it comes to a family Christmas letter. You want it to be short enough to hold attention, but rich enough to convey personality. Aim for two pages—three if you’ve got a lot to say, but no more. A twenty-eight-page recount of every day of the year? Not necessary. Your goal is to leave your readers wishing for more, not pleading for less.
When you choose between long and short words, go with the short ones. Strip every sentence, so all that remains are the cleanest components. Examine every word and keep only those that are necessary. For example, don’t say “At this point” when you can say “Now.”
The Importance of White Space and Margins in Your Letter
Now let’s talk about the layout. Ever received a letter that looked like one big block of text? Your eyes start to glaze over before you even get halfway through! Enter: white space. That’s the magic ingredient that makes your letter easy on the eyes and inviting to read. Keep your margins to around 1 to 1.5 inches on all sides, and don’t forget to leave some space between paragraphs. If you squint your eyes and the entire page looks gray, not enough. A judicious use of white space gives your readers’ eyes a chance to rest.
Choosing Fonts and Punctuation for a Professional Touch
While it might be tempting to use every font in your collection, restraint is a virtue here. Stick with two or three fonts max—two is even better. Choose something that’s legible and festive, but not over-the-top. And speaking of restraint, be sure to follow punctuation rules. It might not sound glamorous, but you respect your reader’s intelligence when you care enough to punctuate correctly. So, no more wild comma splices or double spaces between sentences.
The Best Pictures to Include in Your Family Letter
A good photo can take your letter from “nice” to “wow.” But there’s a trick to it—don’t overcrowd your letter with too many pictures. More is tacky, and less is lovely. Select one or two meaningful photos that complement your message. And remember, the photos should never compete with the text. Leave at least a quarter-inch margin around the photo to create a neat, polished look.
Avoiding Common Etiquette Mistakes in Holiday Letters
Finally, let’s talk etiquette. This isn’t the time to ask for donations for your latest project or promote your home business. A family Christmas letter should focus on reconnecting with loved ones, sharing updates, and spreading cheer. Steer clear of fundraising pitches, sales promotions, and anything that sounds more like an advertisement than a personal update. Think of it like this: if you wouldn’t include it in a holiday card to a friend, don’t include it in your letter.
Inspiration
If you’re looking for some holiday letter inspiration, look no further than the Flanders family Christmas letter! You’ll find their fun and quirky take on the holidays as an excellent example of how to bring your family’s personality to life on paper.
Proofread
Before sending that letter off, take the time to proofread. Trust me—no one wants to find that glaring typo the minute it’s printed or mailed. If you’re not confident in catching everything yourself, ask a couple of friends to give it a quick once-over.
Start Now
A last-minute Christmas letter is like wrapping gifts in the dark: it’s rushed, messy, and you’ll probably end up missing something important. Start now, give yourself time to think through the year, and polish up your letter. Your friends and family will thank you for it.
Download Your Free Family Christmas Letter Planning Worksheet!
Ready to make this year’s holiday letter your best one yet? We’ve created a free, easy-to-use planning worksheet to help you brainstorm, organize, and bring your family letter to life. Whether you’re aiming for humor, heartfelt reflections, or a creative theme, this worksheet will guide you every step of the way. Click here to download your free worksheet now and get started today! →
In Conclusion…
To put you in the holiday spirit, here’s a supposed holiday letter exchange from Martha Stewart to Erma Bombeck:
From Martha to Erma:
Hi Erma,
This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I hand-painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and made a blanket in peaches and mauves.
Then, to complete the sled, I made a white horse to pull it from DNA that I had just sitting around in my craft room. By then, it was time to start making placemats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I’m serving the old standard Stewart twelve-course breakfast, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: I didn’t have time to make the tables and chairs this morning, so I used the ones I had on hand.
Before I moved the table into the dining room, I decided to add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted the room in pink and stenciled gold stars on the ceiling.
While the homemade bread was rising, I took antique candle molds and made the dishes (the same shade of pink) to use for breakfast. These were made from Hungarian clay, which you can get at almost any Hungarian craft store.
Well, I must run. I need to finish the hand-sewn buttonholes on the dress I’m wearing for breakfast. I’ll get out the sled and drive this note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I’ll be making.
Hope my breakfast guests don’t stay too long. I have 40,000 cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon. It’s a goodthing.
Love, Martha
P.S. When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-inch gold gauze. I soaked the gauze in a mixture of white grapes and blackberries which I grew, picked, and crushed last week just for fun.
Response from Erma to Martha:
Dear Martha,
I’m writing this on the back of an old shopping list. Pay no attention to the coffee and jelly stains. I’m 20 minutes late getting my daughter off for school, packing a lunch with one hand on the phone with the dog pound, seems old Ruff needs bailing out again.
Burnt my arm on the curling iron when I was trying to make those cute curly fries, how DO they do that? Still can’t find the scissors to cut out some snowflakes, tried using an old disposable razor… trashed the tablecloth.
Tried that cranberry thing; frozen cranberries mushed up after I defrosted them in the microwave. Oh, and don’t use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice Krispies snowball recipe unless you like food that resembles puke!
Smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya later.
Love, Erma
Question: What’s the funniest or most unexpected thing your kids have said that ended up in your family Christmas letter? Share your favorite holiday moments.
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Your newsletters bring so much joy to my life–and my pocketbook. As a baby-boomer, the double space between sentences is not only a habit, it makes reading easier. I heard that’s “old school” but never heard that it was a no-no. Please explain.
The double space “rule” applies to typewriters. Remember them? Personal computers (PCs) with built-in word processing programs (Word, Pages, etc.) replaced typewriter decades ago and I’ll be you’re using one right now to write your comment. The typewriter rule does not apply to modern word processing as sufficient spacing is built into those programs. They’re smart. They’re programmed to add just the right amount of space after every period to match the font and styling you have currently set. I have a handy book with a stern title: The PC Is Not a Typewriter: A Style Manual for Creating Professional-Level Type on Your Personal Computer that explains all of this in a light but strong way. Of course you have every right to add as many spaces as you want between sentences, but it sends a clear signal to your readers that you’re stuck in the past.
I enjoy reading friends’ and family’s Christmas letters, but if they are longer than 1 page I don’t read them until after the holidays. 3 pages is too long unless they are full of pictures. I loved the Martha Stewart – Erma Bombeck letters!
We got a tiny print Christmas newsletter from an acquaintance who had moved away. Her two page letter informed us of her family’s accomplishments. They all excelled beyond perfect grades, had the leads in plays, solos on choir, mastered their sports… and had wings waiting for them in Heaven. I threw the letter in the trash and removed them from my list.
I think of Erma Bombeck often. She was a true gem. I love Martha Stewart, too. Both hilarious people who have enriched our lives. Thanks for the memories.
Greetings, I write an annual letter at Christmas recounting activities and accolades of my children and grandchildren. I add lots of pictures. I always print a copy for each of my 5 children and add them to a notebook with letters over the years. If any of my now adult children send out a letter of their own, I add that one to their notebook. One day they will have a notebook full of our family’s annual memories.
Their letters are hilarious!
Can’t stop laughing!!
Christmas letters are also an awesome history of the family. I’ve been writing one since before my daughter was born over 40 years ago and always save a copy. Now when I’m having trouble recalling just what year something happened, I can go back to the Christmas letters because all the history is there! Thanks for the giggle with the Martha Stewart/Erma Bombeck letters.